Jeff Donaldson was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1932 and was deeply focused on art beginning in his childhood. He received a BA in studio art from the University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff. He briefly ran an art program for Black high school students in Jackson, Mississippi before being drafted into the U.S. Army. Following his military service, Donaldson went on to receive an MFA from the Illinois Institute of Technology of Chicago in 1963, and later a PhD in African American art history from Northwestern University – the first person in the United States to be awarded a doctorate in this field of study.

While in Chicago, Donaldson became involved with other Black artists in the city. He was a cofounder of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC) in 1967, a precursor to AfriCOBRA. During his time with OBAC he contributed to Chicago’s Wall of Respect. This outdoor mural depicting multiple important Black American figures is viewed as an important touchstone for the Black Arts Movement. After the dissolution of OBAC, Donaldson went on to become a founding member of AfriCOBRA. Here, Donaldson pursued the creation of a celebratory, uplifting, and immediately recognizable aesthetic for Black Art, creating a number of commitments and stylistic qualities that AfriCOBRA artists sought to embody in their work. Donaldson aimed to create work that could speak to identity and resonate with everyday Black Americans using the commitments and qualities he helped define. Donaldson would later helm conferences and festivals dedicated to Black art in the United States and beyond.

From 1970 until his retirement in 1998, Donaldson held prominent positions at Howard University in the College of Fine Arts. He helped broaden the canon taught to students in Art History courses at the university, and helped the programs at the university reach a state of great renown. By the time of his death in 2004, Donaldson had left a prominent influence on Black American art both through his work with AfriCOBRA and his contributions to the academic programs at Howard University.